Gordon Newton

Newton was a central figure in Detroit's Cass Corridor art community, a group of artists who lived and worked in the neighborhood bordering Wayne State University in the late 1960s and '70s. He became known for his experimental, often aggressive, approach to materials which extended to his drawings. For the Marine Light Studies (1987-88), of which there are fifty spread over nine groups, Newton drew inspiration from time spent on Lake Huron. He coated each sheet with resin, as he did his sculptures. "It reminded me of water," he said of the resins. The form of a boat is discernible in some, but his primary interest was to explore the passage of time through changing light. Although he created them in the studio, Newton connected his explorations to Monet's explorations en plein air of haystacks and the Rouen Cathedral. In some ways, his work echoes the Impressionists' interest in the industrializing landscape of the late 19th century. The palette of yellow, green, red, and black, is characteristic of Newton as a chronicler of urban decay.